Tuesday, April 9, 2013

{DNF} Review: Taken by Erin Bowman

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Title: Taken
Author: Erin Bowman
Series: Taken, book #1
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: April 16, 2013
Source: ARC from publisher
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

There are no men in Claysoot. There are boys—but every one of them vanishes at midnight on his eighteenth birthday. The ground shakes, the wind howls, a blinding light descends…and he’s gone.

They call it the Heist.

Gray Weathersby’s eighteenth birthday is mere months away, and he’s prepared to meet his fate–until he finds a strange note from his mother and starts to question everything he’s been raised to accept: the Council leaders and their obvious secrets. The Heist itself. And what lies beyond the Wall that surrounds Claysoot–a structure that no one can cross and survive.

Climbing the Wall is suicide, but what comes after the Heist could be worse. Should he sit back and wait to be taken–or risk everything on the hope of the other side?


**Fair warning:  this review will contain spoilers, ranting, and likely some swear words.**

I was excited to get my hands on an ARC of this book.  It had some serious potential, and I couldn't wait to find out what that whole Heist situation was about.  But I quit reading at page 132, so I guess someone's just going to have to tell me.  Nothing major happened on that particular page, and I hadn't yet thrown the book across the room, but I'd had enough.  The throwing fit was coming, and I could've used an outlet for my frustration at that point, but instead, I decided to cut my losses.

I was so pumped to read another novel from the male perspective, but this doesn't read like that at all.  It reads like a male POV written from a grown woman's perspective.  And the dialogue!  It was cringe-inducing at best and left me feeling like I was reading about 12-year-olds instead of kids who were supposedly considered adults in their community:
     "No, that's not what I meant."..."I'm trying to say that I think doing what you feel can't always be easy, but at least you're being true to yourself."
     "It's okay, Emma, you don't have to try to make me seem like a better person.  You don't have to justify why it's all right to spend time with me."
     "I ...I wanted...Well, fine, Gray!  It's nice to see you, too."
And then there's the way sex is [mis]handled in this book.  I get it:  adulthood has to come a lot earlier when all boys are Heisted on their 18th birthdays.  But that does not mean all kids over the age of 15 should have to consent to the Slating.  For those of you not in the know, Slating is a system of matching up boys and girls for a month at a time in hopes of procreation and growing the population so that these people don't dwindle away into nothingness.  Fine.  But there are some kids who don't like this arrangement.  And others who only agree to it because it's what's expected of them.  Blaine's situation, fathering a child knowing that you're going to be Taken from them, is all the more reason to avoid the whole thing.  Gray does just this, possibly the only thing I liked about his character.  Sure, he's completed Slatings, but he assures us he's done everything to avoid becoming a father only to have to leave his child behind when the time comes.  But no one else, save for Emma, seems to have this aversion to the Slatings.

As I said, I didn't even get halfway through the book.  But I've been informed by other readers that the romance gets a little convoluted, as well.  It's not a love triangle but a freaking rectangle.  Why am I not surprised?  Apparently, sometime after Gray and Emma make it over the wall and are picked up by those other guys, Gray goes missing.  While he's gone -- my friend Em tells me he was missing for approximately a month -- Emma reunites with that one guy that she actually completed a Slating with and they have sex.  And I believe Gray meets Bree while he's missing and there's something between them, too.  Just knowing this makes me glad I stopped reading when I did.

Also, all those boys who were Heisted?  They're in a community on the other side of the wall.  Including Blaine.  And also, apparently their father.  How the hell can these guys not go back for their families?  I flipped through the pages and saw something about a resistance.  Is that what they're fighting?  Were there ever any freaking monsters on the other side of the wall?  Do I really care anymore?

I could rant forever on this.  In fact, Em was hoping I would finish so we could rant together for hours.  But I just couldn't put myself through that torture.  Needless to say, I will not be picking up further installments in this series.


Rating:  DNF - But I think Joaquin more adequately expresses my feelings on the matter...

The Gladiator


But there are plenty who have really enjoyed this book.  Check out some positive reviews below:

The Book Hookup
Finding Bliss in Books
Step into Fiction




28 comments:

  1. Second bad review I've seen for this in the past ten minutes.

    Meh...

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    Replies
    1. The reviews I've seen have been kind of all over the place...

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  2. I got an ARC of this that I've been avoiding because of a couple of negative reviews I've seen. Too bad you didn't like it.


    -Kimberly @ Turning the Pages

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  3. I've heard a lot of people saying they were disappointed :( Shame really, the description sounded so great! I'd even be able to get behind the whole slating thing - if it was rendered in a believable way, which from what I've heard it isn't. I also heard that Gray beats girls? Not cool. And that the whole 'what's behind the wall'-thing is sort of a let-down when it's revealed. Oh well *sigh*... my TBR is long enough anyway ;) Thanks for listing your reasons for the DNF!

    (If it's any consolation: as you saw in my teaser I got Taking Chances, it's for review for HarperCollins... but I'm seriously considering DNFing it and I'm about 46% through. Not sure yet. But I kind of want to kill the female MC / narrator because of her duplicitous, unfair cheating ways and general stupidity.)

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    1. Oh, how did I forget to mention THAT in my review? Yeah, in the very beginning of the book, he waylays some chick and THERE ARE NO CONSEQUENCES. AT ALL. I've heard the same about what's outside of the wall, but I'm not brave enough to forge ahead and find out. :(

      That's the thing about reviewing...you DON'T have to love or even like everything you read. This one I originally got on EW and then received an ARC but you'd better believe I'm going to post my review on EW. I want them to know that I find this type of book distasteful and unacceptable.

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  4. We talked about this one a tiny bit before you DNF. :( The love triangle aspect made me so angry. I did like some parts but well, it had a lot I didn't too. I want to try the sequel and see if it gets any better though.

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    1. You're braver than I am, Sara. And I can't think of a single thing I liked, other than the summary, which only deceived me into thinking this book would be something I'd enjoy. :(

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  5. Dang. I have an ARC of this too, and I was really looking forward to reading it. I'll still be giving it a try, but I have about as much hope for this book as you did before you started.

    Halee @ Confessions of a Book Addict

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    1. Sorry! I hope you end up enjoying it. I didn't want to hate it...

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  6. Wow.. This is the third bad review of this book I've seen this week.. Losing hope

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    1. I have several friends who didn't hate it and no of several more who did. The reviews are very mixed.

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  7. I'm sorry you didn't like it, but I'm glad you shared your thoughts. It's definitely not the book for me.

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    1. Thanks. I don't like writing this kind of review, but I know I wished someone had told me all of this before I even picked it up. :(

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  8. I just laughed so hard, especially at the gif. This review is perfect. It captures everything I felt exactly! (And I'm included in it, so that makes it even better.) ;)

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    Replies
    1. I'm glad I amuse you. :) Thanks for ranting and raving over Taken with me. My review probably would have been even worse had I not gotten it out of my system. :P

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  9. I also have an ARC for this, that I have been really scared of because I was worried my hopes were too high. I have a feeling I won't like it either, and I'm sad about that! Such a pretty cover...

    - Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl

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    Replies
    1. I do still love that cover. I just wish it wasn't so damn deceiving!

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  10. I didn't like this, either. It was all over the place. The cover drew me in, but after that I just got annoyed. I had no connection with any of the characters. And I didn't like the main character at all. It had potential, but there were so many concepts introduced and never followed up on. Plus I didn't feel the connection between Gray and his brother, and wasn't that the whole point of the story???

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    1. I agree...I felt ZERO connection to the characters and I never believed that they felt connected to one another. Everyone was so one-dimensional.

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  11. I did have such high hopes for this book, and I have seen a couple of bad reviews. hmmm. that stinks.

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  12. Ha! Oh, Jen, I loved your review. I wouldn't be able to stomach the dialogue and the immaturity of them either. I hate cringing and I felt like I was cringing just reading that quote. Also, a rectangle? Oh my gosh. Well, I'm glad someone told you what happened but I totally agree. If I hated a book, I can't make myself finish. I'm having that problem with FALLING UNDER. Great review!

    Sunny @ Blue Sky Bookshelf

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    1. Heh...thanks. I hate being so negative, but dammit, I don't like wasting my time reading a bad book. Especially one that I was sooo excited to read in the first place. Before, I would never give up halfway through a book, but my reading time is too valuable.

      Falling Under by Gwen Hayes? I finished that one 'cause it was short. And I think the only reason I read it in the first place was because I read an excerpt of that burning man scene and thought the book would be really good. It was okay. Very tropey and cliche. I won the sequel but I haven't read it yet.

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  13. This might just be the first negative review I've seen for this one! I'm honestly surprised to see it! I'm sorry you didn't enjoy this one :(. I planned on reading because I had seen such great reviews but now I'm a little hesitant. I'm sure ill still give it a shot and hopefully I'll enjoy it. Great review!

    Jasmine

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    1. Really? The reviews have really varied from what I've seen. I hope you enjoy it, too, but I would just suggest going into it with slightly lower expectations. Maybe that was part of my problem?

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  14. oh wow.. I would be slightly sick reading about the whole slating.. like you said, people should have the choice to go through with it or not.. but I guess this wouldn't be a dystopian novel if that happened. Great review, I know a ton of people didn't really enjoy or feel comfortable with this book.

    - Juhina @ Maji Bookshelf

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  15. OMG I love the Gladiator gif!!!! BAH!!! Anyways, this sounds like a book I may not want to read. I've read SO many terrible reviews. Hopefully I'll be the minority, but I doubt it.

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